Gas apparatus.



No. 637,683. Patented Nov; 2|, I899.

T. G. TURNER.

GAS APPARATUS.

(Apfilication filed Apr. 27; 1899,

(."0 Model.) 2 SheetsSheet I.

WITNESSES INVENTOR Patented Nov. 2|, I899.

IT. a. TURNER. GAS APPARATUS.

fApplication filed Apr. 27. 1899.)

2 Sheets8heet 2.

(No Model.)

,, INVENTOR Attorm y 1 UNITED STATES PATENT omen. I

THOMAS G. TURNER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

'cAs APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,683, date November 2i, 1895; Application filed April 27, 1899. Serial No. 714,735. (No man.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS G. TURNER, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a "full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in gas apparatus, and more particularly means for generating acetylene gas.

Heretofore much difficulty, waste,'and an and still allow the automatically-operated devices by means of which the discharging means are manipulated to accurately perform their functions with a necessary degree of certainty. Furthermore, in handling the carbid to transfer it from the original packages to the apparatus and depositing it into the hoppers of the discharging devices the carbid will be attacked by the moisture contained in the atmosphere and be 'slaked to a greater or less extent, causing it to set free the gas, to discomfort and injury of the manipulators and loss to the operator of the plant; and,- again, the handling, storage, and shipment of calcium carbid are attended with much danger on account of fire, and for this reason insurance companies have refused to permit the use of acetylene-gas apparatus on insured property and railroads have refrained from assuming the great risk arising from the dangers incident to the handling of calcium carbid.

It is the object of my invention to obviate all of these dangers'and annoying difficulties by providing appliances with the use of which It has been the calcium carbid will be tightly inclosed from the time of packing for shipment until it is subjected to the actionof Water in the generator.

A further object is to provide appliances for feeding carbid into a generator by means of which the premature and also the subsequent escape of gas will be prevented.

A further object is to provide devices for feeding carbid to a receptacle which shall be automatic in their operation and which shall avoid all possibility of leakage of gas without depending upon closely-fitting packing devices between moving parts.

A further object is to so construct apparatus for the manufacture of acetylene gas that the carbid will be liberated from its container automatically and entirely after it shall have been deposited into the gen-eratoix' A further object is to so construct applijances for making acetylene gas that the carbid willbe automatically liberated by the mutilation of its container upon its arrival within the generator. l

A further object is to produce apparatus for manufacturing acetylenegas which shall be simple in construction, safe and automatic in operation, and effectual in all respects in the performance of its functions.

With these objects in viewthe invention consists in the combination of a tank or receptacle and means for liberating the whole of a charge of gas-producing material immediately after its arrivalwithin the tank or receptacle.

The invention further consists in the combination, with a generator-tank and a fragile carbid-container, of means for automatically mutilating said container after it shall have entered said tank or receptacle.

' The invention further consists in a gas apparatus comprising a tank or receptacle, a

fragile container for producing material, and means within the tank or receptacle for breaking said container to liberate its contents.

The invention further consists in the combination, with a tank or receptacle and sealed fragile devices containing carbid, of a feeding device for such containers, means for controlling the operation of the feeding devices, and means within the tank or receptacle for ICO . or receptacle.

The invention further consists in the combination of a tank or receptacle, fragile devices 7 containing carbid, a feed device for said fragvention also consists in-certain novel features I rangements of parts, as hereinafter set forth, a i

water seal.

ile devices, means forbreaking said-fragile; devices, and a water seal through which said fragile devices pass for preventing the escape of gas through the feed device; and the in-' of construction-and combinations, and arand pointed out in the claims...

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional viewof anapp'aratus embodyingmy-improvements. Fig. 2;i s an enlarged;

of the. fragileeontainers, l I 7 A represents a basin, preferablyrectan-gu-1 lar in form anddisposed upon a;ba se1 corn posed of'sl-ats or boards a b. A vertical lydisposed generator-tank B (preferably square; in cross-section) is disposed atzits'l gwet-open; end within 'the basin A, a short distance from. one end, thereof, andfrests upon a plate 2,; securediin the bottom of the basin. The tan];- Bithus formswithin, thefbasi n a; comparatively interior of the tank communicating with th former through anopening 5 and with th latter by means; of an opening 6., Theends oi [the plate 2 are bentup alongside; the; end walls; of the basin and serve tosu-pport bear-1 ings 7,.for thejournals of ascrew conveyen8 extendingpractically from end to end of: the,

basin and through the openings a; b' of-tthe; ahktbymeans of which. ash nd br ke- I partieles: of the carbid-eontainers can be vvithdrawn into the chamber 4 of the hasimwhere-x from they can; be readily removed. To; pro-,

vide ead me n f r. op r t g th'ehonveiert th fihaft thereof may be provided with a pr ckete m i h n; may b-Qi n:

Par ed yh 10 r mla a ger spr cke 7 Whee llimoun-ted in-as n a s,whichnre;

jects upwardly from. one end of thebasing an said last-mentioned wheel can be readily ror tated. by means of a crank or key attaehedgto he-p je t nsen o ;i a t ereo t II'pri-ghtsLZ aresecured to the; bottomoli- I 0; the: diame er- K h ank and sewe e p otally spp r grate up n whi h he f. whi h aid ont iners re; oken cr me matedn; a ma -he eina e moretel y xp ained; The. glart r consists: of; ar re cQm-pri-singya er es Qt p ra e ar sna epaizt'siaml sa d grate or t im nilte s supported to one side of its center by the up- Portion- I i ularpertp e y A teedhe 2 .,ha t ng: "an inwa d y inclin ng or beveledp ph y 2%ih-s 9hmttd en r l y ithin the feed-re ten a les rms 2 which project f om; hejper -ph ry Q ifihfl Wheet and cohper tewi huee h ether l tacleto form a eri s, at pocke s tier the re;

icept on, con eyance of thec.. nis wt1:

ai ens; 2 At 0 the inn erwwal of, he; e ep acle and: thewa lt fig the ge erator-tank;

5 anemeflewith ty is d tule onenings'th cugh' i is, pack hetran ported f o -"the; place W ere:

the basin and project upward-1y withinthe lowerend o thet k B, the uppernds: e Said uprights. terminating a short distance 3 gener qu :W n ne-o hefragil eo t l ally o t; th fre eepant n r of arbidfalt an by mea 6 ceases rights 12,50 that the preponderance of weight ofi the grate will be to onefsideof its pivotal support. The grate, however, is normally supported in a horizontal position by means of a bar 15,dispose'd under the heavier part thereof and secured at its ends to the uprights 125. A chain. 16.0r'similar flexible device is attached at one end to the shorter end of the grate and extended downwardlyto the botand finally over a pulley ISat the edge of the basin, and provided at its. free end with a knob 19,- Bymeans of the chain 16 the grate may be shaken to dislodge anyfragments of the broken carbid; containers or of carbid.

view show-in g the feed-wheehits; casing, and Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional, View, Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of one] i A; sta dar s. lo ated; t the end of. the;

Qpposite he stan e, n saidstand- 11118 are be t i war y under the .baseand secu ed hereto. The anda s 6 projec vi IP ardU- light y ahove e losed upp nd TQfith-e;gene ator-tank B. and areilprovi ed at :theiruhper; ends with bearings for the; ends P of a shaft 21,said shaft also having bearings. n:i0h:rua1-boxes 2.2, ocated, on the. op; ofsai an -t The's a 2 erves o hold. the. tank; 3B, firmly down upon i-ts seatfin the bottom of eihasihy and' lso er es for other. purpeses which ll: b fu y p ain d farth'e hnl -u sm l hamb nd l '1 ham e ath :Oiflth A feed-recep acle 2 h ecur d: hesidee enera o a k ahd: Provided w thin-a h lte2 orcarbidp ntainer tthebody' of: i feedceptacl avi gaalcirr d; provided; with a; series ofg radial 11 the per phe a wa 05 fie d.reQQn-- the ce bid-ccnt ii ers; are. discharged,

to, t

m de of: glass or o her ra i erc tram .hlema e iah into h e l z e alcium ca b id ed; a the placeiof; manufacture and ierm t al ysealed, o hat th o thd as t; is:

zl y of bei g deterioratedieri any' is i. h y atmosphericm sture; during ransi Qrwthen be ng handl d in; har im hrearrwes; t t er inet 3 0,, ll ro l ate-r.- i n line i petirnh ry 0t, theteed- H .e and a fi.. e.-ge, eratorauk;-; The qqh te her i-lu i a zl; 1 51 9, the; grate nearthe Ebottom'of the tankjust cover the water; and; --brok n mu ilat d, hus mmediately discharged onto the waterjand result in he generator. Each: carbid en ain r made te the pla e t onsump i n: without I .etstihsr entir c nt n s. of; carbid an pe m-1t canhid to dr p; thro gh the: stat and:

IIO

constructed of that size it will make one comems-. g

the generation of acetylene gas in a manner l well understood. The gas thus generated will rise within the tank 13 and will be conveyed bya suitable pipe 33 to a place of consumption.

In order to prevent possibility of escape of gas through the feed devices, the feed-weep tacle is supplied with water so that the level thereof will be above the lower end of the inlet-chute, the level of the water being preferably located as indicated at z. A water seal is thus formed, and through it the carbid-containers pass on their way to the generator. 7

It is desirable to render the discharge of the carbid-containers into the tank B automatic and commensurate with the diminution of the gas-pressure in said tank. I For this purpose the devices now to be described will be employed.

The spindle 33 of the feed-wheel is extended some distance beyond its bearing and projects into a drum 34, so as to form one bearing for the latter. The other bearing for the drum consists of a spindle 35, secured to the drum and mounted in the standard 0. The drum is grooved for the reception of a cord or chain 36, one end of which is secured thereto. The cord or chain 36 is passed over pulleys 37 and provided at its free end with a weight38fordrivingthedrum. Agear-wheel 39 is secured to the spindle 33 between the drum and the feed-receptacle and is provided in one face with a socket for the reception of a spring-actuated dog 40 on the drum, so that the gear-wheel will be propelled in one direction by the drum, but so that the drum can be turned (by the application of a key to .the spindle 35) in the other direction to wind the weighted cord without turning said gear- Wheel. The gear-wheel 39 meshes with a pinion 41 on the shaft 21, and said shaft is provided near its opposite end with a gear-wheel 42, which transmits motion to a pinion 43, secured to a short shaft 44. The shaft 44 is mounted in boxes secured to the standard at and the generator-tank B and has secured to it a friction-wheel 45. Just below the frictionwheel a brake-arm 46 is pivotally attached to the standard at and provided with a brakeshoe 4'7. A rod 48 is attached to the free end of the brake-arm 46, and the lower end of said rod is connected with a float 48*, disposed on the water in the narrow chamber 3 of the basin. The gearing is preferably so timed that the feed-wheel will move the width of one pocket during two revolutions of the triotion brake-wheel. The feed-wheel may be conveniently made with eight pockets, and when plete revolution to sixteen revolutions of the friction or brake wheel. From the construction and arrangement of parts above described it will be seen that the pressure of gas within the generator-tank upon the water will cause a displacement of the water in the basin, and thus cause the float to rise and press the brake-shoe against the frictionwheel, so as to hold the feed mechanism at rest. When the pressure of gas in the generator-tank diminishes, the water-level in the basin will descend thus permitting the float to move downwardly and in consequence r'emove the pressure of the brake-shoe from the friction-wheel, thereby releasing the latter and permitting the motor devices to turn the feed-wheel and discharge a sealed charge of carbid into the generator-tank, wherein the carbid-container will be promptly mutilated by contact with the grate and the carbid liberated, as before described. The cooperation of the fresh charge of carbid with the water will replenish the depleted gas-pressure in the generator and the feed mechanism will be stopped by the application of the brake, as previously explained.

Numerous slight changes might be made in the details of construction of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or limiting its scope, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details herein set forth.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a tank or receptacle and a fragile carbid-container, of means for automatically mutilating said container after it shall have entered said tank or receptacle.

2. A gas apparatus comprising a tank or receptacle, a fragile container for gas-producing material and means within the tank or receptacle adapted to receive said container after it shall have entered the tank or receptacle and break it to liberate its contents.

3. The combination with a tank or receptacle and sealed fragile devices containing carbid, of a feeding device for said fragile devices and means in the tank for breaking said fragile devices when they are discharged into the tank.

4. The combination with a tank and sealed fragile devices containing carbid, of a feeding device for said fragile devices, means for automatically controlling said feeding device and means within the tank for breaking the fragile containers as they are fed into the tank.

5.-The combination of a tank, fragile devices containing carbid, a feed device for the fragile containers, means in the tank for breaking said fragile containers and aliquidseal in the feed device, through which said containers pass.

6. The combination in an acetylene-gas apparatus of a tank, a breaker therein, and impervious fragile devices containing carbid adapted to be discharged upon the breaker in the tank.

7. The combination in an acetylene-gas apparatus, of a tank a breaker therein, sealed impervious fragile devices containing carbid I and means for feeding said impervious d'evices to the upper, part of the tank'and permit them to drop uponthe breaker. a

8. The combination in an acetylene-gas apparatus, offa tank, a grate or breaker"there-. in, a feed device, a Water seal in the feed device. and hermetically-sealed glass devices containing .c'arbid adapted to be passed through said Water seal by the feed device and dropped upon the grate or breaker in thetan k.

9. The combination in a gas apparatus, of said grate, a flexible device attached to said a generator-tank, a float-chamber communieating directly therewith, a feed device,a

friction-brake,a float in the float-chamber connected with said brake, a motor for the feeddevice and and brake. p

10. Thecombination in a gas apparatus, of a generator-tank, a feed device, a motor for the feed device, a friction-brake, gearing begearing between j the motor tween the motor and brake, and. means actuated bygas-pressure within the. generator for applying said brake. I

111. In an acetylene-gas apparatus, the cornbination with a generator-tank, of a .feedwheel having pockets with bot-toms beveled toward the generator, said generator having an inlet-opening for the passage ofcharges of carbid from the pockets of the feed-wheel.

12. In an acetylene g as apparatus, the condbination with a generator-tank; fragile carbid-containersand means for feeding said containers to the tank, ofa grate in the tank for breaking saidcontainers as they are fed into the tank and means for shaking said grate.

13. In an acetylene-gas apparatus, the combination with a generator-tank, of a grate pivotally supported to vone side ofits center in said tank, a support for the heavier side of grate for shaking it and fragile carbid-containers adapted to bedischarged upon said grate. V g o 14. Ina gas apparatus, the combination of abasin, a'generator-tank having its lower end open and seated in's'aid basin, standards extendingupwardly from the ends of the basin and a shaft connecting the upper ends of said standards and serving to hold the, tank in place in the basin. r

I In testimonywhereofl ,have signed this 1 specificationin the presence of 'two subscribingwitnesses V I THOMAS G. TURNER. Witnesses:

R. S. FERGUsoN, O. S. DRURY. 

